US Sailing, the national governing body of the sport of sailing and standard bearer for sail training in the United States, has recognized Courageous Sailing as one of the best community sailing centers in the country. Courageous offers sail training from the very basics all the way through advanced keelboat courses, bareboat cruising, and celestial navigation. In addition to Courageous, US Sailing recognized only eight other sailing centers.

Courageous Sailing was recognized by SAIL Magazine as one of the top ten community sailing centers in the country. What set Courageous apart was the organization's involvement in Special Olympics and Sail Blind among other adaptive sailing programs. SAIL mentioned how Courageous has played an important role in making the waterfront accessible in the summer for non-caucasian youths from lower income backgrounds.

Sailing, marine life, and field trips are part of a program to prevent a summertime loss of reading and math skills among low-income students in Boston. Its aim is to help close the achievement gap. On a sweltering August day, student Hendrick Estrella sits on a sailboat, dragging his hand through the waves and reveling in the coolness of Boston Harbor. The day before, he had touched – and tasted – a striped bass, gathering details for a book he is writing about fish.

Courageous offers a number of discounted membership and lesson combinations to encourage those who know they want to jump right in! Learn (or review) the basics with a course, and then put your new skills to good use with a one-month or one-year membership. For many, the Basic Keelboat Complete plus One Year Individual (Full) Membership combo is the perfect way to get started.

For combinations purchased during the sailing season (May 1 - October 31), your membership will begin when you finish your course, and run for either one calendar year or one month from the date you activate, depending on the membership you choose. Memberships expire October 31 if the combination is purchased before May 1. Please note that taking Basic Keelboat Part 1 only will not prepare you to sail on your own as a member.

Our combination packages are listed below. Please refer to the course and membership pages for descriptions of the various courses and memberships.

Our first day of frostbite racing in the new year was a great one - 24 boats on the line, sunshine, brisk but not bone-chilling, and 6 races completed despite two postponements! The breeze was heavier than expected, gusting over 20 knots at times. Without reefs in, the R-19's were screaming around the racecourse. Saturday's conditions were on the edge of [Courageous Sailing's] reefing territory, so the Rhodes were about as loaded up as we'll let them get before shortening sail. Results will show Mark Lindsay and Jim Watson handily taking first for the day with 11 points, followed by Bryan Lee and Rob Breslin (26 pts), Chris Palmieri (28 pts), and Marston Brand at 31.2 pts.

This coming Saturday is forecast to be mid to high 40's, cloudy, and light at 5 kts S. Be prepared to obsess over the being on the line with speed at go and having perfect light-wind keelboat tacks.

Heres a video of a Thistle doing a sweet roll tack, and by video I mean a set of slides with a ridiculous soundtrack - but the Boomshakalaka crew does a masterful job of snapping their boat through a tack. The three crew members are impressively synced up.

Here is a Melges 20 gently finessing their hull through some light breeze, with the utmost attention paid to crew weight in the boat. The team delicately transfers their weight, fully aware that the smallest roll to windward at the wrong moment could kill their momentum.

In each of these clips, check out the skipper's tiller position through each point of the tack. Watch it over and over and over again. Then practice using two chairs and baseball bat. Then come down on Saturday and practice in the boat on the way out to the course. We'll try to get some video of tacks and throw the clips online.

Last week Albert brought some very tasty vegetarian chili. Unfortunately our meat chili suffered a mishap, so we were low on food. Please sign up for this coming weekend!

2015 Summer Youth Program Lottery

Important

Dates

Lottery Registration Opens

March 1

Lottery Registration Closes

March 15

Confirmation Letters Mailed

March 27

Note

Registration in 2015 will be lottery-based. There is NO advantage to submitting a registration form early. This is NOT a "first-come-first-served" system. Forms must be completed online (link below). More Rules and Restrictions

Note

Confirmation letters regarding registration and waitlist status will be mailed to registrants no later than March 27, 2015. Please allow one week from that date (until April 3) for delivery prior to calling the office. Thank You!

Rules and Restrictions

All Courageous Sailing Youth Program students registering for classes in Step 1, 2, 3 or 4 MUST provide proof of their ability to swim at least 25 yards and tread water for 90 seconds. All students in Step 3 and above will be subjected to an on-site "swim check" by Courageous instructors. Download Swim Test Form. Note that the swim requirement does not apply to "Swim, Sail, Science" students or "Summer Learning Project" students.

Before registering for the lottery, please note the age and skill requirements for each Step.

All students entering the lottery for Jamaica Pond classes MUST prove their Boston residency per order of the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. Proof of residency requirements will be posted closer to the registration period.

Lottery registration forms must be submitted by Sunday, March 15, 2015. The online form will not be available after March 15, 2015.

All lottery registration forms received will be processed in the following order of priority: (1) returning students, (2) siblings of returning students, and finally (3) new students who have no siblings in the program.

Waitlists are capped at 40. All students whose lottery registration forms have been processed will received confirmation fo their status of registered, waitlisted, or not registered.

Post-lottery: Once you receive a letter of confirmation, you may make changes, additions or cancellations via telephone, subject to availability. Please email youthprogram@courageoussailing.org or call the office 617-242-3821 as soon as possible if you must cancel your class. Be advised that "no-shows" will not be admitted but will instead be automatically waitlisted should they choose to apply for the 2015 program.

We expect long waitlists due to the high demand for our programs and very limited number of spots. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Free membership for instructors who commit to teaching at least 4 full Basic Keelboat classes during the season. Check out our website for details, but this means free use of the fleet and access to all member racing, events, parties, etc.

The chance to have a really good time, become a better sailor and better teacher, and be part of a great organization.

Current US Sailing Keelboat/Cruising Instructor certification is Required.

Requirements

US Sailing Level 1 or Keelboat Instructor Certification, equivalent or more advanced

Free membership for instructors who commit to teaching at least 4 full Basic Keelboat classes during the season. Check out our website for details, but this means free use of the fleet and access to all member racing, events, parties, etc.

The chance to have a really good time, become a better sailor and better teacher, and be part of a great organization.

Current US Sailing Keelboat/Cruising Instructor certification is Required.

Requirements

US Sailing Level 1 or Keelboat Instructor Certification, equivalent or more advanced

Job Description

We are currently seeking experienced keelboat, cruising, navigation and racing instructors to join our instructor team for the 2012 season, which runs from May 1 to October 31. Most adult program classes run on the weekends and weekday evenings.

Benefits

Teaching sailing on Boston Harbor - not a bad way to spend your spare time

Free membership for instructors who commit to teaching at least 4 full Basic Keelboat classes during the season. Check out our website for details, but this means free use of the fleet and access to all member racing, events, parties, etc.

The chance to have a really good time, become a better sailor and better teacher, and be part of a great organization.

Current US Sailing Keelboat/Cruising Instructor certification is preferred.